Vehicle spring bearing



Dec. 29, 1925 1,567,302

' R. R. sEARLl-:s

VEHICLE SPRING BEARING Filed March 10, 1925 ,l 11 il( i 1 P I Il: 1 N.Q/ ii SW M 1,1%/ l I l l za i* |l i l) E" 1"@ Q s; :D

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented lDlee, 29, i925..

llilmgg- RAYMOND R. SEARLES, OF NEW RIUt-IINT,` CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TOTHE FAFNIR BERING- COMPANY, 0F NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, CORPORATION OFCON- NECTIACUT.

'VEHICLE seams Banania.

lpplication'led March 10, 1925. Serial No. 14,393.

To'aZZ wzm 'it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND R. Sininnns,`

a citizen of the United States of1America, residing at New Britain,Connecticut, have invented a nevi7 and useful Vehicle Spring learinggofwhich the following is a specilication.

The inventionv relates to. improvements in anti-friction bearing,connectionsl for vehicle springs, and 1s particularly adapted.

for heavy vehicles, such as motor trucks.

lt is an object of the invention to provide a bearing which may beappliedv directly to the. sill 'of a vehicle, to afford greater facilityin attaching the sp1-ing to the vehicle frame than is ordinarilypossible Where depending brackets are attached to the vehicle sill forthe purpose of springv connection.

lt is another object to provide shackle links which Will be exceedinglystrong, yet cheap to manufacture.

ln the accompanying drawings, illustrating a preferred form of theinvention Fig. l is an'end elevation, partly in section, showing suchparts as are essential to a full understanding of the invention; Fig. 2is a sideelevation ofthe parts shown in Fig. l.

p low as possible, it is my purpose to dispense with the usual dependingbracket,`

' of the springsutlioiently far to engage with' tid l represents incross-section a channel beam, which constitutes one so-called side sillof a vehicleframe. 2 represents one end of a vehicle spring, Which it isnecessary to properly secure to said sill. ln order to afi'ord a minimumof clearance so as to allow the vehicle body to be positioned as such'asis-ordinarily attached to the sill, and to connect the spring to thesill very closely. The connecting elements proper comprise twocomplementary shackle links 3-4, preferably formed from struck-up metal,so that the middle portion of each link is in the form of a channel,both ends of each link being provided .with bearing surfaces, to receiveor coact With antifric` tion devices, such as balls 5. ln the particularform shown 6 isa pin, which is mount- `ed`in the end ofthe spring 2. Theends of said pinprojeet beyond the side edges and be support/ed by theballs 5 5. A

similar lpin 7 is mounted in the" silll, a,

suitable fillet piece l being mounted in the stead of to a bracket.

Vchannel of the sill so as to properly supmanner in the channel part ofeach link.

This fillet may be secured in place in any desired Way, as, for example,by spot welding, conventionally indicated at l0. ll is a bolt whichpasses through appropriate passages or apertures in the links 3Mifor thepurpose of holding them in operative position. In order to attain thegreatest compactness, so that excessive clearance may be avoided, it isdesirable in some cases to have the bolt 10 pass'through the shackles3-l closer to the lower than to the upper 'ends thereof, as indicated inthe drawing. This is particularly true where the upper ends of theshackle links are to be secured directly to the vehicle sill, i11- Tothat end it is desirable to have the channeled portieri ol each of thelinks reinforced, so that a tubular spacer 12,'bearing against the,reinforces 9 of the links, will properly steady and hold the links inparallel alignment when tightly clamped together by the through bolt l1.Manifestly, if the through bolt does not pass through the cenv`ter ofthe links, the tendency of the same,

when drawn up, would be to clamp the lower ends of the links moretightly on the bearing balls 5 than the upper ends; therefore, to avoidthis, Ihave so `constructed the parts that, even. through the through'`boltis not located midway in the length of y links than from the othernot described in detail the minor features, one of which, for example,relates to a dust-proof washer, indicated in section at 13. t is, ofcourse, preferable to provide suitable dust-proofing means at variouspoints to protect the working parts ofthe anti-friction bearings, andthe device indicated at'l conventionally represents one form of such ameans. i A

It is likewise plain that the 4particular form of the anti-frictionbearing which is provided at each end of each link may be modified in avariety of ways.

I claim:

1. ln a vehicle spring bearing, a pair of shackle links having bearingsurfaces at the ends, shackle pins, anti-'friction bearing membersbetween said bearing surfaces and said pins, and means together with theanti-frictionbearing members engaging said pins and bearing surfaces,said holding means `being positioned of saidy substantiallyfarther fromone end end.

2. ln the combination defined in claimil, said holding means being athrough bolt extending through said links.

3. In the combination defined in claim 1,

for holding said links and a spacer member for spacing said shack lelinksl apart.

4. As an articleof manufacture, a shackle link including aAchannel-shaped member having bearing surfaces at the ends forantifriction bearing members, and a reinforcing 'member in said channelfor strengthening the part of said channel-shaped member intermediatethe ends.

5. As an article of manufacture, a shackle link including a link memberformed of sheet metal and having bearing surfaces for anti-frictionmembers at' the Iends thereof, and a reinforcing member extendinglongitudinally of said link and secured thereto at a point intermediatethe ends of the link member.

6. In a vehicle spring bearing, shackle links having ends, shackle pins,anti-friction bearing members between said pins and bearing surfaces,said links intermediate the ends being channel shaped, areinforcingmember in each channel, a said channels for spacing saidlinks apart,

a pair of bearing surfaces at the spacer interposed' between l and meansfor holding said links to each other. i

RAYMOND R. SEARLES.

